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Khul
Khul is the southernmost of the three great continents of Titan. It is also known as "the Dark Continent" and "the wasted birthplace of Chaos." - p.??/10 - pg. 27 - pg. 101 Geography Khul is situated in the southern hemisphere of Titan separated from Allansia, to its north-west, by the Ocean of Tempests and from the Old World, to Khul's north-east, by the Ocean of Serpents. The physical make up of the more settled parts are where the earth and rocks are a very dark black colour. This helps give it its alternate name of the "Dark Continent" (as well as the fact that little is known of Khul outside of its shores). There are great variations in topography within relatively small areas although some generalisations can be made. - ???; - ???; - p.??; - p.?? Central Plains The centre of the continent from the southern coast, sweeping north along the eastern side of the Mountains of the Giants and even further north-east towards the Pikestaff Plains is a vast broad lowland. At its southern end it is the Scythera Desert described variously as a cold desert and a searingly hot desert, presumably referring to its night and day time temperatures. Moving northward, the Wastes of Chaos occupy what was once a rugged but fertile extended lowland. - para 28; - p.?? This was essentially a semi-circular arc of gentle rolling steppes, pleasant valleys and gentle mountain peaks enclosing a wide area of moorland and grassy plain once watered by both fast and slow flowing rivers. The early people of the land were mostly uncivilised hunters and foragers experts at hunting and killing game. However the heart of the continent was blighted by the wild magic released in the Great War against Chaos hence its barren nature now. The north-eastern end of the vast central plains of Khul once again turn into the grassy plains of the Battlegrounds and thence the Pikestaff Plains. Inland Sea Perhaps more correctly deemed a geographical sub-region of the central plains of Khul, the Inland Sea sits in the south-east corner of these plains and is almost completely enclosed by land. It was formed by the sinking of the land after a great earthquake and is surrounded by rugged upland areas. - ??? The Northeastern Highlands This area is dominated by the Pikestaff Plain - ??? which is largely an extension of the great central Khulian plain. However, as the north-east reaches the sea it becomes hilly and mountainous on all sides. - ??? The coastline is for the most part dominated by cliffs that are sheer and as they travel inland there is a significant strand around the whole coastline that it is rugged or rocky upland area. Only on its southern side where the north-east corner abuts the shores of the Gulf of Ariona does the coastline slowly fall. The centre of this region is largely lowland grassy plains, although there are intermittent hills and outcrops. The Ximoran Plains A vast arc of mountains separates the centre of Khul from its fertile western plains. The chain is made up of two distinct ranges, the Mountains of the Giants and the Cloudhigh Mountains. - ???; - ??? West of these mountains the land descends into another vast lowland area taking up most of the western seaboard. These lands contain many river valleys that enrich the fertility of the land. In the north are some swamplands as well, most notably the vast Scorpion Swamp. - ??? The plains extend up to the northern coast of western Khul. In the south they are curtailed south of the River Swordflow by high mountains in Khul's south-west except to the south-east of this western region where they continue to the southern coast in the form of the great Southern Steppes. - ???; - ???; - ??? The Sub-Swordflow Uplands In the south-west of Khul are lands of rugged mountains, many plateaus, river valleys and basins that complicate an attempt to generalise the characteristics of this corner. The large islands off the the south-west of Khul are upland areas that were once joined to the mainland until rising sea levels cut them off. The Mountainous South-East The south-east corner of Khul is geographically distinct from its adjoining lands being entirely cut off by the great mountainous barrier that is the Shios'ii Mountains that arc around it from its south-west to north-east corners. - ??? Within the basin that is formed to the south and east of the Shios'ii is a great fertile plain taken up by the land of Hachiman where mighty rivers flow from the highlands down to the Black Ocean. - ???; - ??? Gundobad In 2014, the book Beyond the Pit depicted a new map of Titan by Steve Luxton. This depicted the region of Gundobad (the location for Clash of the Princes) as being located on the northern part of Khul, north of the Pikestaff Plain and west of the Sea of Silver. ''Beyond the Pit'' - pp.4-5 Gundobad is a city-state surrounded by the River Scamder and thick forests; beyond these forests lies the barren, semi-desert region of the Northern Waste . The Warlock's Way - p. 90 ; The Warrior's Way- p. 106 Pronunciation of Khul The pronunciation of Khul is a topic over which Old World and Allansian scholars have long debated. Of course, in different locations and in different languages the word would be pronounced differently. However, in the Common Tongue, Khul should be pronounced to rhyme with "fool" and "pool". There are old rhymes and verses from Khulian origin which support this assertion. - 98 Discrepancy within the book Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World talks of a land bridge that once joined Khul to Allansia that disappeared long before Humans walked the surface of Titan. - p.??/22 Yet Khul did not form until after Irritaria was split apart, long after man existed. This has formed a conundrum. One proffered explanation is as follows: Khul was originally the name given by the inhabitants of Irritaria to that land mass which was adjoined to south-east Irritaria by a land bridge. Upon this land were a number of nations including Kelios. After the splitting of the continents, this land mass was largely destroyed, its remnants being the Isles of the Dawn. The inhabitants of the southern portion of Irritaria named their new continent Khul, believing that it was they whose land now sat where Ancient Khul once had, apart from the other lands to the north. Thus we refer what was originally called Khul as Ancient Khul. This has led to some confusion in some historical documents which have interpreted the land bridge that once joined Ancient Khul to Irritaria as a non-existent land bridge connecting Allansia to Khul. Books Set in Khul *''Scorpion Swamp'' *''Seas of Blood'' *''Sword of the Samurai'' *''Masks of Mayhem'' *''Beneath Nightmare Castle'' *''Clash of the Princes'' - The Warrior's Way & The Warlock's Way *''Phantoms of Fear'' *''Chasms of Malice'' *''Daggers of Darkness'' *''Portal of Evil'' *''Fangs of Fury'' *''Master of Chaos'' *''The Keep of the Lich-Lord'' *''Spectral Stalkers'' - although this book starts and ends in the Neuberg area of Khul, it also takes places in Space and is sometimes referred to as a Space-based book. *''Deathmoor'' Dependent on Definition Two gamebooks, Black Vein Prophecy and The Crimson Tide, are set on the Isles of the Dawn. Sometimes the Isles of the Dawn are deemed to be Khul.Locations page at the Internet Archive record of the orginal [[Fightingfantasy.com (original)|Fightingfantasy.com]] Advanced Fighting Fantasy Books set in Khul *''Atlantis Campaign'' I-V *''Travels in Arion'' See Also *List of places in Khul *Book Locations References Category:Khulian Lands and Regions Category:Beyond the Pit Entries Category:Clash of the Princes Entries Category:The Warrior's Way Entries Category:The Warlock's Way Entries